Facilitation Guide

HOUSING Facilitation Resources, Forms & Templates

Selecting and Fine - Tuning Your Agenda:

The basics: agenda options, general recommendations, start times, breaks, process

On the pages that follow, you will find three agenda options for running a workshop, which you are free to use or amend to better meet the needs of your participants. Editable versions of each one can be found on the New River Valley Area Agency on Aging website: www.nrvaoa.org The first agenda option is the shortest, and can be accomplished in a single, 3 - hour session. This option will offer your participants a quick tour through the five topic chapters which they can continue to explore on their own after the workshop.

The second agenda option breaks the workshop up over two half - day sessions and allows a more time for answering questions in the workbook and for group discussion.

The third agenda option is the most informal and simply offers an open - ended process for a group to explore the workbook topic - by - topic over several weeks or months while still providing some structure and shared support from other people who are similarly interested and engaged in planning for aging in place.

Regardless of which agenda option you choose, we do have some general recommendations :

1. If you select one of the more structured agenda options (#1 or #2) it will be useful for you to calculate out the start times for each section, so you can see if you are running behind or ahead of schedule. In the sample agendas we have provided, the workshop is shown as starting at 1 pm and concluding at 4 pm.; please amend to fit the start time for your workshop. 2. Although you should tell your participants they can take a break at any time during the workshop to use the restroom or stretch their legs, it is also a good idea to schedule an official break for the whole group at about the midway point for each day. 3. We recommend you use the following process as you move through each of the chapters:  First, take about 5 minutes to cover the key points , either with PowerPoint or video.  Then, allow participants the bulk of the time to read and answer chapter questions .  Lastly, conclude each chapter with at least 10 minutes of small group discussion . 4. If you select the less structured agenda option (#3), you will find additional recommendations for a more open - ended process on the following page.

Aging in Place: Your Home, Your Community, Your Choice

Facilitation Guide 19